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What Our Partners Are Saying

"Through the partnerships and leadership of PREVNet, we have seen a significant shift to a different kind of research."

“My partnership with PREVNet has truly been an rewarding experience, this year more than ever. My involvement in helping create a Healthy Relationships Training with some of PREVNet's researchers and NGO partners that front line staff will find useful and practical has been both educational and personally enriching. I've learned so much about developing a training module and the evaluation procedures that a new module must go through, but perhaps more importantly, this experience has given me a new appreciation for the work that Canadian NGOs do and some of the challenges they might face in implementing such a module."

Dr. Danielle Quigley (former PREVNet Graduate Student)

“It’s always a pleasure to work with PREVNet on our annual Bullying Awareness Week campaign as their vast academic research reinforces Family’s position that it is essential to address bullying with students across Canada. The tailored anti-bullying resources PREVNet has supplied us with and their research students’ involvement has enhanced our in-school programs and helped us equip Canadian youth with the tools to stand up to bullying.”

“The PREVNet partnerships provide an opportunity for researchers to network and collaborate on projects with the common goal of advancing evidence-based research in the area of violence prevention in children and youth. This collaboration was instrumental in our dissemination efforts of the WITS peer victimization prevention program. Specifically, PREVNet allowed us to form partnerships with other members, which provided invaluable support to enable a nationwide randomized control trial (RCT) of the WITS Programs.”

Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater (PREVNet Researcher)

“The PREVNet partnerships encourage graduate students to not only connect with other researchers but to also work with members on various PREVNet sponsored projects. PREVNet provides graduate students with a unique opportunity to learn about developing community partnerships as well as cultivate practical experience in applying research to policy. Moreover, the WITS Programs partnership with PREVNet also allowed for needed partners to enable the Randomized Control Trials, which will be the focus on my dissertation research.”

Paweena Sukhawathanakul (PREVNet Graduate Student)

“We are building the Observatory of School Violence of Medellin with another four institutions (Universidad de Antioquia, Instituto Popular de Capacitación, Funlam and Corporación Región). Maybe you and Dr. Craig can share with us your experience as a network and it will be very helpful if we can make a partnership with PREVNet.”

“Over the past year, I have been working in partnership with the Canadian Red Cross - an opportunity that has proven to be a unique and rich opportunity to learn about knowledge mobilization and program evaluation. As my training in graduate school has progressed, I have been told repeatedly how the area of knowledge mobilization at the intersection of academia and community practice is recognized as both critical and challenging. Still, there exist few opportunities for graduate students like myself to gain the skills and experience necessary to prepare us to translate knowledge in ways other than through manuscripts and conference presentations. Thankfully, through PREVNet, I have been able to engage in knowledge mobilization and as a result, I have gained nuanced insight into the challenges and benefits of maintaining a partnership and trying to bridge the needs of a community organization with the tools available to researchers in Universities. The work has been imperfect at times - but as we have learned to work together, I have seen changes in the Red Cross' understanding of how research can benefit their organization and I have learned about the impacts of logistics, politics, and other constraints in assisting with research at the community level. I cannot stress enough how important this learning opportunity has been for me and for my future career. I can only hope that other trainees have the same opportunities as I have had so that we may become more effective in using research to impact social outcomes in the future. Thanks!”

Dr. Samantha Yamada (former PREVNet Graduate Student)

“PREVNet really practices what it preaches in the way it conducts business. In the same way that all of PREVNet's members want to support youth to develop healthy relationships with each other, PREVNet also supports incredible relationships among researchers, partners and graduate students. The impact of this investment in relationships is higher quality research with more relevancy to organizations, and a new generation of researchers with the practical skills and commitment to make a difference with their work. What makes PREVNet different from other research networks is the prioritization of Knowledge Mobilization and really wanting to do research that matters. There is still a trend in academic research to think of KM as an 'add-on' that you deal with at the end of a project. Through the partnerships and leadership of PREVNet, we have seen a significant shift to a different kind of research. A kind of research that starts from a place of true partnership between academic and community partners and creates knowledge that can been put into practice to improve outcomes for Canadian children and youth.”

Dr. Claire Crooks (PREVNet Researcher)

“Attending the PREVNet conference in Toronto this June was the highlight of my summer. It served to significantly expand my professional network to include graduate students, researchers, PREVNet partners, and community members interested in working together to end bullying. As a student member of PREVNet, I also had the opportunity to share my own research and develop my presentation skills by participating in my very first student poster session. By the end of the conference, I had discovered new tools to forge ahead in my own bullying research, received an opportunity for collaboration on a new research project, and met some of the leading researchers who inspire and inform my own work. Perhaps most importantly, however, I felt I had become part of a larger network that works tirelessly in its endeavours to better the lives of children who are negatively impacted by bullying relationships.”

Harrison Oakes (PREVNet Graduate Student)

“PREVNet has made me so much more aware of what other researchers are doing. Through the network, I can contact others in the field for help, advice, a better measure, or suggestions for a better publication outlet, so that my research is better and reaches its intended users more effectively. When I work with PREVNet organizational partners, I have the benefit of their input right from the start, so that I'm asking the research questions that end users actually want answered. I feel as though the answers to those research questions have practical applied value as well as advancing knowledge in my field. PREVNet gave me the opportunity to provide information about evidence-based Canadian Best Practices Portal. Through PREVNet, I have also been able to communicate the results of research about prevention of bullying directly to children and youth by working with the Family Channel.”

Dr. Wendy Josephson (PREVNet Researcher)

“PREVNet has not only shaped my experiences as a graduate student but has also influenced my view of research. Through PREVNet I have been able to witness and experience the incredible contribution that partnerships between researchers and community organizations can make to both research and practice. For my PhD dissertation, PREVNet helped me to establish a partnership with Big Brother Big Sisters of Calgary and Area to conduct an evaluation of a unique type of mentoring program. Through this partnership, I not only learned how to conduct applied research, but I also learned the importance of collaboration, effective communication, and teamwork. PREVNet has been a role model in fostering relationships between researchers, graduate students, and NGOs from across Canada, and has showed me what it truly means to collaborate in research.”

Dr. Joanna Sue (former PREVNet Graduate Student)

“PREVNet played a central role in facilitating my work with an industrial partner (Wynford Motivation Works). Through this partnership, I have had the opportunity to act as a scientific consultant to help develop a character education program and I was able to help with the evaluation of this program in schools as part of my doctoral dissertation. Through this partnership, PREVNet allowed me to develop my consultation skills, my communication skills, and my applied research skills. I am very thankful to have had this opportunity.”